Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 18, 2008, al-Shabaab was the militant wing of the former Somali Islamic Courts Council that took over parts of southern Somalia during the second half of 2006. Since the end of 2006, al-Shabaab and associated militias have undertaken a violent insurgency using guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics against the transitional governments of Somalia. In 2015, the group continued to fight to discredit and destabilize the Federal Government of Somalia. Al-Shabaab is an official Al Qaeda (AQ) affiliate and has ties to other AQ affiliates, including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The group’s leader is Ahmed Diriye aka Ahmed Umar aka Abu Ubaidah, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Al-Shabaab is composed of a mixture of Somali recruits and foreign fighters. Since 2011, al-Shabaab has seen its military capacity reduced due to the efforts of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali forces, and clashes – some violent – within the group itself. Despite al-Shabaab’s loss of urban centers since 2012, the group was able to maintain its hold on large sections of rural areas in south-central Somalia in 2015 and conducted multiple attacks in Somalia and Kenya. (Read more...)

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement claimed a car bombing on a joint U.S.-Somali military convoy near Afgoye, in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, and reported its taking control over a large swath of Bal'ad, a city in Middle Shabelle.

Two days after it reported to have killed three American soldiers in an attack on Baledogle Airfield, the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement elaborated upon its motivations for the strike, and among other reports, claimed killing and wounding 17 Djiboutian forces in a single operation, in Jalalaqsi.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement, al-Qaeda's (AQ) branch in Somalia, claimed shelling an American base inside Baledogle Airfield in Lower Shabelle, killing three U.S. soldiers and five Somali Special Forces, and took credit for attacks on Somali soldiers elsewhere in the region.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement claimed credit for the assassination attempt in Mogadishu on an MP of the South West State of Somalia, and destroying a post of the telecommunications company Safaricom in Garissa County, in neighboring Kenya.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement accused the U.S. of bombing a residential area in revenge for its failed raid in Lower Shabelle, and claimed that such disregard for civilians only strengthens the jihadi call.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement released the second episode in a video series documenting the assassinations and bombings executed by its "Muhammad bin Maslama Battalion," including a blast on an American vehicle in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement, al-Qaeda's (AQ) branch in Somalia, claimed seven attacks in a five-day period, one of them a bombing in which a brigade commander was killed, while its media unit noted an overall escalation in strikes on Somali and AMISOM forces.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement claimed credit for the assassination of a manager for the UAE-based DP World Company in the port city of Bosaso, and blast in Mogadishu's Hamar Weyne district, targeting security officials.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement published photos of war spoils in captured in two operations, including the January 19, 2019, raid on Somali bases in Bar Sanjuni, and claimed inflicting 16 casualties among Djiboutian forces.

Al-Qaeda Central issued a statement lauding its branches in Mali and Somalia, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) and the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement, respectively, for their operations carried out in the name of "Jerusalem Will Never Be Judaized".

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement, al-Qaeda's (AQ) branch in Somalia, claimed killing 19 Somali soldiers in a single bombing in Lower Juba region, in addition to inflicting casualties among other Somali troops as well as AMISOM forces in Bay, Hiran, and Lower Shabelle.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement, al-Qaeda's (AQ) branch in Somalia, claimed assassinating an official in the Somali Interior Ministry in Mogadishu, and reported the surrender of four soldiers from Jubaland, three of them guards of the autonomous state's president, Ahmed Mohamed Islam (AKA Ahmed Madobe).

In applauding the recent attacks by al-Qaeda (AQ) affiliates in Kenya, Mali, and Somalia, and that of the Afghan Taliban, a pro-AQ group reminded that strikes in the West are also important and must be undertaken.

Just one day after it alleged to have killed over 57 Ethiopian troops in an ambush in Somalia's Bay region, the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement claimed inflicting more than 41 deaths among Somali soldiers in s "sweeping attack" near Kismayo.

The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement issued a rare press release for its ambush in Somalia's Bay region allegedly killing 57 Ethiopian soldiers, calling the operation a "severe blow" and a "stern warning" to these forces.